How far can we stretch a story based on one of Autocar's unnamed sources? Let's see. According to a senior engineer source of Autocar's, the company won't launch a hybrid unless it's as economical as a diesel. That sounds about right, considering BMW's spent plenty of R&D money on diesels, and is planning to expand its diesel line into the US. Is it too much of a leap to say the company's first hybrid — a version of the 5-Series, whose hybrid-drive system the company developed with GM and DaimlerChrysler — will be a diesel hybrid? Not for Autocar, which apparently surmises as such from the engineer's comments. Is it sexy conjecture, or will BMW be the first automaker to drop an oil-electricity system into a passenger car? Either way, the first hybrid 5-Series is expected to arrive in 2010, with or without a nod from Herr Rudolph. – Mike Spinelli